Workers, 2022

For more than fifty years, Jean-Louis Schoellkopf’s photographic work has centered on industry. After documenting the working-class culture threatened by the transformation and decline of traditional industries dating back to the 19th century, he now focuses on the sector’s revival.

Jean-Louis Schoellkopf chose to settle in Mulhouse, a historic industrial hub, to document the ongoing changes in the organization of work and, more broadly, in the landscape.

As part of the deposit of his photographic archives, the Institut pour la photographie is supporting the photographer in this new project and presenting the first section, which is dedicated to workers.

Jean-Louis Schoellkopf visited various production sites—textile, chemical, and electrical. Following his usual approach, he invites the workers to pose freely before setting up his medium-format digital camera on a tripod. These portraits, centered on each subject, express their individuality. Their posture and the choice of location also reveal their relationship to work.

Taken as a whole, this offers a broader perspective on this new industrial era. What emerges is greater social diversity, notably with an increased presence of women. It is also a sterile environment where color plays an important role, from equipment to uniforms. Its visual impact is optimized to codify the organization of work, with a new color palette chosen to refresh the industry’s image.